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IBM makes an Impact on the cloud

Out of nearly 400 sessions announced for IBM Impact 2013, there
are already 41 sessions focusing on cloud computing topics and how to apply it
to your business. But before you head to Las Vegas and start learning about the
future of cloud, how much do you know about its history?

While cloud computing may seem like new and cutting-edge
technology, the idea was conceived more than 50 years ago with the help of IBM.
In the 1960’s, IBM first invented virtualization, a precursor to cloud
computing. By solving the problem of multiple users accessing the same operating
system, IBM opened up the door to allow users to easily share information.

At the same time that IBM was refining virtualization, some of
the most famous American computer scientists expanded on the concept and
suggested the possibility of a completely open and accessible computing system—
what we now call the cloud. In 1961, computer scientist John McCarthy suggested the possibility of a computer time-sharing system and in 1969, J.C.R. Licklider connected ARPANET(Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), linking
multiple computers in different cities.

Development in cloud computing slowed through the 1970s and
80s, but sprang forward again in the 1990s with grid computing and the
invention of the internet. Just a few years later in 1999, Salesforce.com
launched the first cloud product and Amazon, Google, IBM and many more jumped
on the bandwagon, releasing their own cloud products in quick succession.
Today, cloud computing is a billion-dollar industry and growing ever-larger.

Want to find out how Google and IBM collaborated to advance
the cloud and more little-known cloud facts? Learn more with this INFOGRAPHIC
from WebSphere Insights magazine and sign up for a free subscription at www.websphereinsights.com.